Dear diary
by Skovko
Summary: A quiet day at the dog park turns into something more. Baron's dog Xander knocks over a young woman who's running from two men. She drops her backpack in the collision. All he sees is a tattoo and her eyes. Eyes that won't leave his mind. He grabs her backpack and decides to find her to give it back. Inside he finds a diary revealing things that brings out his protective nature.
1. Knocked down by a dog

It was a nice day with high sunshine and Baron was enjoying it outside in the dog park with his dog Xander. Xander was off the leash but stayed close. Not many people were there this early in the day and he enjoyed it being quiet. The feeling didn't last long.

Xander suddenly looked up, his mouth opened with drool hanging out, all of his attention in one direction.

"What's up, boy?" Baron asked and turned his head in the direction Xander was looking.

Someone was running towards them fast. By the small size he guessed it was a woman or a young boy. The person had a hoodie on that covered the entire face and a backpack over one shoulder. Xander wiggled his tail, thinking this person running towards them wanted to play.

"No, Xander!" Baron shouted but it was too late.

Xander jumped up on the small body, making the person fall to the ground with a scream. Definately a female by the sound. She dropped her backpack in the collision. Baron quickly grabbed Xander's collar and yanked him back.

"Sorry about that," he said as he looked down at the body on the ground.

The hoodie had slid up her back, revealing a tattoo of a dolphin on her lower back.

"There she is!" Someone shouted.

She immetiately turned her head up to look in the direction and all Baron saw was her blue eyes. Piercing, ice cold, blue eyes. He lost his breath.

"Shit!" She hissed and jumped to her feet, taking off running again.  
"Hey wait, your backpack," he tried but she was already far away.

He picked it up and swung it over his shoulder. He was still holding on to Xander's collar with his other hand as two men came charging full speed past him.

"Where the fuck did she go?" One of them shouted to the other, never stopping though.

Baron put the leash back on Xander and slowly started walking away. He had no idea what had just gone down but either the woman was in trouble or she was trouble itself. He knew he should stay far away from this. He didn't know her or the two men but he had her backpack and it would be the right thing to do to find her and give it back to her. Besides, he couldn't let go of the image of those ice cold eyes. They were frozen in his mind.


	2. Shout out

The moment Baron got home, he opened the backpack. Not to snoop through it but to see if he could find anything in there with her name and address so he could return it. All he saw was clothes. He took it out and there at the bottom was a book. He took it up and opened it. A diary. He knew he shouldn't. This was private. But he couldn't help it.

He walked over to the couch and sat down before looking at the first page. It was dated eight months ago. He ran his fingers down the page as he studied her hand writing. It wasn't as pretty as he thought a female touch to be. And then he started reading.

 _Turned 18 today and I was out of the house before sunrise, before they would wake up and see me leave. They can't come for me anymore. They can't drag me back and force me to stay there anymore. They can't sell me to their friends to feed their drug abuse anymore._

"Holy shit," he muttered.

He couldn't believe what he had just read. Somewhere out there was a young 18 year old girl running away from what he could only assume were her parents who would sell her to buy drugs. He felt angry and he didn't even know this girl.

He knew he should close the diary and not continue reading. This was too personal information that she probably didn't want anybody to know about but he turned the page. The date skipped ahead and he quickly looked through more pages ahead to see it was the same pattern. She didn't write everyday, only on days where major things had happened that she felt the need to document.

 _Started working at Shout Out three weeks ago. Been hanging out with this girl Gladys that works there too. She just found out she was pregnant. She doesn't want the baby. She doesn't know who the father is. One of her customers. I don't get how she can sell her body night after night. I'll never do that. Not again, not ever. I only dance there. She said she found this place that will take care of it for her. It costs money but she can pay on a weekly basis and no one will ever know she was there. She has asked me to come along. I've agreed. She shouldn't go through this alone._

He sighed. He knew that place Shout Out. He had never been there but he knew it was a strip club. So she danced there for money. 18 years old and dancing at a strip club. He felt his heart start breaking for her.

 _This is so messed up and I don't know what to do. Gladys didn't survive the abortion. I didn't think something like that could kill anyone. I have no idea what these people did to her but she's dead and they still want their money. They demand payment from me since I was there with her. They said they'll send a guy to find me every Monday morning to collect. I don't know how he's gonna find me but I have no doubt that he will so I won't run and hide. I'll spend everything I earn in the club to pay them and then I just gotta return to stealing to get food and clothes for a while. Anything I have to do to survive._

"Shit!" He growled. "Little girl, what have you gotten yourself into?"

He turned the page and saw it was the last one. It was written the day before.

 _I have no fucking clue what to do. I haven't earned enough money this week to pay them tomorrow. He'll come for me and he'll find me no matter what and I'm scared. I don't know what they'll do to me once they realize I can't pay. What can I do? Where can I go? Maybe hide out in the club? But for how long? It will only be a matter of time before they figure out I work there. Maybe they already know. I don't know. Shit, I'm so fucking scared. Am I gonna die tomorrow?_

"Fuck!" He raised his voice.

It was Monday today. She had been running from two men this morning. Now he knew why. He didn't know why or how but he knew he had to help her somehow. He got up and prepared for his first visit to Shout Out that evening.


	3. Home

He felt out of place as he walked into the strip club. He didn't mind strip clubs. It just wasn't his type of thing. Drooling over some woman dancing in front of him that he would never be allowed to touch. He might as well just stay home and watch porn instead where he could masturbate instead of running around in a dark club with a hard on for every other man to see. However, he wasn't there to see women dance. He was there to find her.

He sat down at a table in the corner with a beer and pretended to watch the woman dancing on stage. She didn't have his interest one bit and he was happy when the song ended and she disappeared.

"Please, welcome to the stage, our own little water nymphe, Delphine!" A voice sounded.

He looked up and his eyes landed on the dolphin tattoo on her lower back. Delphine was her name. Made sense why she had that tattoo now. She turned around and those ice cold, blue eyes looked straight into his and he knew she recognized him.

He felt like he was crossing a line as she started dancing and taking her clothes off. He looked down, not wanting to see her naked. He felt like he somehow knew her after reading her diary and he wouldn't look at her naked body without her direct permission.

The song ended and he looked up. She was gone from stage and another woman was walking out. She was introduced too but he wasn't listening to the voice telling her name and selling her to the hungry eyes inside. He left his half empty beer on the table and walked outside.

He sat in his car and waited while watching the entrance to the club. Around half an hour later she finally came walking out. She was dressed like earlier that morning with a hoodie to cover her face but he knew it was her. He got out of his car and walked towards her.

"Delphine?" He asked.

She looked up with a scared look but seemed to relax a bit when she saw it was him.

"You're the guy from this morning with that big ass dog," she said.  
"Yeah, sorry about him. He just wanted to play. I'm Baron," he said.  
"What do you want?" She asked.

Straight to business. He couldn't blame her. He was a complete stranger to her.

"I got something that belongs to you," he answered.  
"What?" She asked.  
"Your backpack. It's in my car," he said and pointed towards his car.

She followed a few steps behind him and he knew she was alert. He opened the car door and took out her backpack and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said.  
"You're welcome," he said.  
"How did you find me?" She asked.

Shit. There was the one question he really didn't want to answer but he knew he had to.

"I read your diary," he answered.  
"You what?" She shouted.

Clearly she was angry and he understood. He was just about to apologize when the angry look on her face turned to fear. He looked in the direction her eyes were looking and he saw the two men from this morning walk into the club.

"Get inside!" He growled.  
"What?" She asked.  
"Get inside the fucking car now before they see you!" He growled and grabbed her arm, pushing her inside the back seat and slamming the door shut.

He jumped in on the front seat and started the car.

"Stay down!" He growled.

She threw herself down on the seat and he quickly drove away.

"It's safe. You can come up now," he said once they were out of sight of the club.

He looked in the rear view mirrow and saw her get back up.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked in a scared voice.  
"Home," he answered.


	4. 3000

"The guestroom's in there," he said and pointed at a door.

She stood still and just looked at him, trying to figure out whether or not to trust him.

"Look, you don't know me but I won't do anything to hurt you. There's a key in the door. Just lock it if you feel the need to. I won't go in there. Just get some sleep, alright? You look like you need it," he said.

She slowly nodded and made her way towards the room. She opened the door and turned around to look at him.

"Thank you," she said.  
"Get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning," he said.

She closed the door and he heard the lock click. It was alright. Whatever she needed to do to feel safe around him.

"Come on, Xander," he said as he walked towards the bedroom, his dog following him in there.

She woke up the next morning and saw that he had stayed true to his word. He hadn't come in there and she had actually gotten a good night's sleep. She stretched her body, got out of bed and quickly put on her jeans before unlocking the door and walking out.

She smelled coffee right away and followed the smell to the kitchen where he was sitting with a cup in front of him.

"Oh, you're up. How did you sleep?" He asked.  
"Good. Thank you for letting me stay here," she answered.  
"Don't mention it. Coffee?" He asked.  
"Yes, please," she answered.

He got a cup for her and handed it over. For 30 seconds they just sat there in silence, sipping on their coffees, watching each other a bit, trying to figure out how to start the conversation they both knew they had to get through.

"You're probably still mad at me for reading your diary and I do apologize for that but I was only trying to find you to bring your backpack to you," he finally said.

She nodded. He was right, she was mad about that but there was nothing she could do about it now and she didn't wanna get into a fight with this kind man.

"It's okay. What's done is done. Let's move past it," she said.

He sighed in relief and smiled at her. First problem was over with. Now he needed to deal with the second one.

"How much do you owe these people?" He asked.  
She was the one sighing now and she put down her cup of coffee.  
"That's none of your concern," she answered.  
"Just tell me," he said.  
"3000," she answered.  
"That's a lot of money," he said.  
"I know. I was supposed to pay off 500 each week and I have for the past couple of weeks but I couldn't come up with it this time around. It's not like being a stripper pays off," she said.

He felt for this poor girl. He reached over and took her hand. She twitched as if she feared he would hurt her but she didn't move it. He gently caressed it as he looked at her.

"Will you let me help you?" He asked.  
"I don't know," she answered truthfully.

She wasn't sure how to feel about this. She liked his kindness but she didn't wanna mooch off him.

"Just stay here for a couple of days and think about what you wanna do," he offered.

She nodded. That she could do. She could even repay him by cooking and cleaning. The place could use a woman's touch by the looks of it.

"I'd like that," she said.


	5. The price goes up

Baron and Delphine grew close over the next three days. He quickly felt like she was a little sister to him. He finally got her to tell him where she lived. A small one bedroom apartment. Not much but it was enough for her to have a roof over her head. He demanded her keys, told her to stay in his apartment and then he drove to her place to get her some clean clothes.

The first thing he noticed was her front door being ajar. He was clear someone had broken into her place. He quietly opened the door and peeked inside. Whoever had done it wasn't there anymore. He stepped inside. Nothing seemed out of place. The place wasn't trashed but someone had still been there. He hurried to the closet, grabbed as much clothes as he could fit in the bag he brought along and hurried back home.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

He wasn't gonna tell her but the look on his face gave him away right away so he might as well.

"Someone's broken into your apartment and I'm pretty sure we both know who it was," he answered.  
"Shit," she whispered and sat down on the nearest chair.

She couldn't help it as she started crying. She leaned over the table and buried her face in her arms, just letting the tears run down. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her.

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want," he said while he gently rubbed her back.  
"You're too good to me," she said between her sobs.  
"Don't you think it's about time someone treats you good?" He asked.

She didn't answer. She just threw her arms around her and let him hold her while she cried into his shirt. She couldn't believe her luck in finding this kind man who was willing to do so much for her. He was like a protective big brother.

That night they went to bed like they've done the three days she had been there. Him in the bedroom, her in the guestroom. None of them prepared for what was about to happen.

Baron woke up by a loud bang. He flew out of bed but before he even opened the door, he heard her screaming. A chill went down his spine as he threw open the door and came running out with murder in his eyes.

"Stop!" A man shouted.

Baron stopped as he saw Delphine standing there with a knife pressed against her throat. Several men where in his house but only one had a hold on her with that ugly knife pressed against her.

"Baron..." She cried, her eyes begging for him to help her.  
"Not another step," the man warned.  
"Let her go!" Baron sneered.  
"I can't do that. You see, little Delphine here owes us a lot of money," the man said.  
"She doesn't owe you shit!" Baron spat.

The man let out a cold laugh.

"When people can't pay what they owe us, they pay with their lives," he said.  
"No! I'll pay!" Baron shouted, panic clearly showing in his voice.  
"Really? You wanna put your hard earned cash on the table for this little girl?" The man asked.  
"Yes! I'll pay! Just let her go, god damn it!" Baron shouted.

The man tapped the knife against the throat, making her whimper while he thought about the offer.

"Alright, 5000," he finally said.  
"5000? She only owes you 3000!" Baron yelled angrily.  
"She didn't pay this week so it costs extra," the man said.  
"Fine, 5000. I'll get it from the bank tomorrow. Just let her go, please," Baron begged.  
"Tomorrow. Someone will come pick you up at 11," the man said.

He grabbed her arm and started dragging her with him towards the front door.

"No no no, what are you doing? I said I'll pay. Let her go," Baron begged, tears starting to press in his eyes.  
"I will, tomorrow, after you've paid. Till then she's coming with me," the man said.

Everyone disappeared out of the apartment, leaving Baron a complete mess, scared of what might happen to her.


	6. Freedom

Baron was pacing his apartment, waiting for whoever was coming to get him. He had the money in an envelope and he hated it. Not the fact that he had to give away that much money but what they meant. He had to buy her freedom with that money, like she was a slave he was about to set free.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. He hurried over to open it.

"Let's go," the man standing there said and turned around to walk back to his car.  
"How is she?" Baron asked as he followed.  
"Get in," was all the man replied.  
"I swear to god if you've hurt her..." Baron started but was cut off by the man.  
"Threats won't get you anywhere," he said and started the car.

They drove to a warehouse on the edge of town. He followed the man inside. He watched a young girl being led into a room while holding her hand on her stomach. He knew instinctly she was about to go through what Delphine's friend had gone through and hadn't come out alive for. He felt for the young girl but he also knew he couldn't act on it. It was her choice. She was far from the first and she wouldn't be the last. The girls would continue coming here. He couldn't save them all. He had to focus on the one girl he could save.

He was led into a room where she was standing together with four men.  
"Delphine!" He raised his voice and started running towards her.  
He was stopped when the guy from last night with the knife grabbed his arm.  
"Not so fast. You got something for me first?" He asked.

Baron grabbed the envelope and pressed it against the man's chest. The man just smiled, took it from Baron's hand, opened it and started counting.

"It's all there," Baron hissed.

The man didn't respond. He just kept counting before finally looking at the other three men standing next to Delphine. He nodded and one of the men gave her a push towards Baron.

She ran to Baron and threw herself in his arms as she started crying. He didn't say anything. He just hurried to put an arm around her and started escorting her out before any of the men inside had second thoughts about letting her go.

It wasn't until they were all the way outside in the daylight that he finally turned to look at her.

"Oh my god, Delphine, are you alright?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her to hug her.  
"I'm fine," she cried.  
He held her tight for a while, just allowing her to cry into his shirt.  
"I can't believe you did that. I can't believe you came for me," she said.  
He pulled her out to look at her.  
"Of course I did," he said and smiled.

They walked home. It took them an hour but they both needed to just keep moving, feeling the sunlight on their faces, knowing she was free and out of debt. She had never felt so grateful towards anyone before in her life but she knew she would never be able to thank him enough for what he had done for her in those short amount of days.

He made coffee as soon as they got home. They sat down at the kitchen table next to each other. He reached over and took her hand.

"I'd like for you to stay here," he said.  
"How long?" She asked.  
"As long as it's needed. We're gonna turn the guestroom into a real room just the way you like it. You're gonna roll your ass back in school..." He said.  
"I can't afford that," she cut him off.  
"I didn't say you would have to pay for it. I'll pay for it. Whatever you wanna be, you're gonna get the education for it and live here while doing so," he said.  
"But..." She started.  
"It's not up for negotiation," he said firmly.

She looked at him. She could see by the look in his eyes that he meant every word.

"Yes daddy," she said jokingly.  
"I'll prefer being your big brother. I'm not that old," he chuckled.


End file.
